Welcome Guest! In order to take advantage of all the great features that Waterloo Region Connected has to offer, including participating in the lively discussions below, you're going to have to register. The good news is that it'll take less than a minute and you can get started enjoying Waterloo Region's best online community right away.Login or Create an Account

I love pizza but many of the pizza places in the area are not very exciting. We live just outside the Region of Waterloo and there are not many places to chose from and the ones that exist are sub-par. So I started making my own pizza soon after we moved out of Kitchener. I bought a good pizza stone and a pizza peel from Vincenzo's and the rest, as they say, is history.

However, I still look for good pizza places in the Region and beyond. Some of my favourites include:

City Cafe Bakery -- I've only been to the one on West Ave. Many times.

Buon Gusto in Guelph.

Earth to Table Bread Bar in Hamilton on Locke Street. I haven't tried the one in Guelph.

Nostre Cucina on Manitou Dr in Kitchener.

I liked the pizza at Rustic Slice Pizzeria in Kitchener and San Francisco's in Ayr but they do something I don't care for. They put cheese over the toppings and the result is that items like broccoli and other veggies get steamed, not roasted. And the taste is not as good as it could be.

Speaking of pizza, I had some delivery from Pepi's on Saturday that was bloody awful! I've noticed a downhill slide for Pepi's the last few years but this was terrible.

Canadian Pizza at Lincoln and University is not only less expensive, but also better. I don't think they do anything special, but they are quite generous with toppings and the toppings are decent quality. They're not gourmet but they don't profess to be and nor do they charge like they're trying to be. They're a good quality meets value.

Pepi''s reminds me a bit of The Huether in that they started believing their own hype and began resting on their laurels. Now, many other places have come and surpassed the quality they once had and have left them in the dust.

I don't eat a lot of pizza locally, but I'll say that the Affumicato and Smoked Prosciutto pizzas at Levetto (near RIM Park) are quite good. Not a wood-fired oven, as I recall, but a nice thin crust, excellent choice of toppings (the right combination is key), and cheese under, not over the toppings.

(02-09-2016, 02:54 PM)jgsz Wrote: Earth to Table Bread Bar in Hamilton on Locke Street. I haven't tried the one in Guelph.

I used to live near Locke and found Bread Bar's pizza was not nearly as good as the hype. Have you had occasion to visit Na Roma on Locke? It is very good- nice and crispy thin crust; very consistently good.

(02-09-2016, 02:54 PM)jgsz Wrote: I liked the pizza at Rustic Slice Pizzeria in Kitchener and San Francisco's in Ayr but they do something I don't care for. They put cheese over the toppings and the result is that items like broccoli and other veggies get steamed, not roasted. And the taste is not as good as it could be.

It's funny you say that, because I really like cheese over the ingredients and usually do this when I make my own pizza. However, I don't eat as many veggie toppings, and can see your point when you mention broccoli for instance.

Rustic Slice is pretty far from me, so I've never tried it, but I might try to, now.

Anyone tried Papa Joe's downtown? This is next on my list to try. I am not anticipating it to be a pizza connoisseur's pizza (I'm not one, so that may be okay) but hoping it's good value take out.

(02-09-2016, 03:31 PM)tomh009 Wrote: I don't eat a lot of pizza locally, but I'll say that the Affumicato and Smoked Prosciutto pizzas at Levetto (near RIM Park) are quite good. Not a wood-fired oven, as I recall, but a nice thin crust, excellent choice of toppings (the right combination is key), and cheese under, not over the toppings.

I tried the pizza at Levetto in Waterloo and Baden and I quite liked it. The crust is somewhat unusual (for me, anyway) and it reminds me of Focaccia bread. I found it quite light and airy. And yes, they offer nice toppings.

Quote:I used to live near Locke and found Bread Bar's pizza was not nearly as good as the hype. Have you had occasion to visit Na Roma on Locke? It is very good- nice and crispy thin crust; very consistently good.

I have not tried Na Roma but I'll keep it in mind next time I'm in Hamilton.

Quote:It's funny you say that, because I really like cheese over the ingredients and usually do this when I make my own pizza. However, I don't eat as many veggie toppings, and can see your point when you mention broccoli for instance.

I steam a lot of veggies as a side dish but I don't care for it on a pizza. But as they say, chacon a son gout.

Famoso is good in KW. I'm not a pizza expert, but they seem to be thinner crusts and are wood-fired. They have everything from basic Neapolitan-style to gourmet types. My favourite is probably the one with Brussels sprouts, walnuts, Gorgonzola, dates, and prosciutto, but there are a number of other fantastic options.

(02-09-2016, 05:27 PM)jamincan Wrote: Famoso is good in KW. I'm not a pizza expert, but they seem to be thinner crusts and are wood-fired. They have everything from basic Neapolitan-style to gourmet types. My favourite is probably the one with Brussels sprouts, walnuts, Gorgonzola, dates, and prosciutto, but there are a number of other fantastic options.

I like Famoso, but they somehow manage to be... well, wet. I don't know why, but the pizzas are often a little soggy. But I still like them. They're one of the closest to producing the kind of pizza I remember as a kid in northern Italy.

A better example of this style can be found out of town: Pazzo in Stratford.

(02-09-2016, 05:27 PM)jamincan Wrote: Famoso is good in KW. I'm not a pizza expert, but they seem to be thinner crusts and are wood-fired. They have everything from basic Neapolitan-style to gourmet types. My favourite is probably the one with Brussels sprouts, walnuts, Gorgonzola, dates, and prosciutto, but there are a number of other fantastic options.

I like Famoso, but they somehow manage to be... well, wet. I don't know why, but the pizzas are often a little soggy. But I still like them. They're one of the closest to producing the kind of pizza I remember as a kid in northern Italy.

About Waterloo Region Connected

Launched in August 2014, Waterloo Region Connected is an online community that brings together all the things that make Waterloo Region great. Waterloo Region Connected provides user-driven content fueled by a lively discussion forum covering topics like urban development, transportation projects, heritage issues, businesses and other issues of interest to those in Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge and the four Townships - North Dumfries, Wellesley, Wilmot, and Woolwich.